"With the sanctions being lifted, that has definitely changed the game, and the level of interest (for Iran-Oman-India pipeline) is accelerating now," Ian Nash, project director for SAGE, which is developing the project, told Interfax Natural Gas Daily.

The 4.5 billion pipeline will take natural gas from southern Iran via Oman Sea and the Indian Ocean to Gujarat state in western India.

According to the report, SAGE will lay the 1,400-km pipeline bypassing the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of Pakistan.

Iran and Oman have already signed a deal to build an undersea pipeline to ship 20 million cubic meters per day of gas to the sultanate for a period of 25 years. The deal worth $60 billion also includes turning Iranian gas to LNG for exports.

India has sought to establish a direct gas link with Iran after Pakistan’s foot-dragging in completing an onshore gas pipeline between the three nations.